Apparently it was Pope St. Paul the second who said that mercy is “love’s second name.” I thought this was very beautiful and inspiring, so I snatched it up as the inspiration for the title of this piece.

The Quality of Mercy

Whether you appreciate Shakespeare or not, there’s a great message in my favorite Shakespeare passage. God is just, but His mercy triumphs over judgement!

“The quality of mercy is not strained.It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath. It is twice blest:It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomesThe thronèd monarch better than his crown.His scepter shows the force of temporal power,The attribute to awe and majestyWherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;But mercy is above this sceptered sway.It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings;It is an attribute to God Himself;And earthly power doth then show likest God’sWhen mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,Though justice be thy plea, consider this:That in the course of justice none of usShould see salvation. We do pray for mercy,And that same prayer doth teach us all to renderThe deeds of mercy.”

— William Shakespeare/The Merchant of Venice

He Has Shown Us

We must walk as Jesus walked…

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” –Micah 6:8

“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” James 2:12-13

I love this statement Tina. Love’s second name is mercy. such a true statement too; for how can we expect to show love without mercy? Because there is none perfect save Christ alone, we are bound to offend someone and mercy must be given in response. Thank you for sharing this post

“That in the course of justice none of us should see salvation” — that’s true and well put by William Shakespeare. I’ve never read The Merchant of Venice, but I probably should read more of the Shakespeare sitting on my bookshelf. Good post, Tina!

Thanks Autumn! Me too. We have the complete works, yet I’ve actually read so little of it. It’s one of my to do’s that I’ve some how never gotten to yet. Maybe I should taken it down off the shell. There’s a better chance that I’d pick it up and explore it’s pages if it were within reach. 😊

You’re welcome! And a good thing to watch after (or before) you read that would be Henry V from The Hollow Crown series, if you haven’t yet. Tom Hiddleston is King Henry. That’s really good and so is Henry IV. I like both of the plays. 😊

Awesome! I’ll have to look that up! Thanks Autumn! Tomorrow I’m taking a “Music that Speaks” post where no “Music that Speaks” has gone before. I wrote it quite a while back, but it seems that now is the right time to post it. Check it ouuuuuut. I’m out for now!